1970 London - Mexico World Cup Rally

Gartrac made its first acquaintance with David Sutton who was the manager of Clark & Simpson who were Ford dealers in Sloane Square, London. Ford was about to embark on the 1970 London to Mexico rally using Escort Mk1's. The cars were predominantly standard with no roll cages, however Gartrac supplied uprated suspension and running gear components for the event.

Mikkola's rally-winning Ford Escort Mk1

Mikkola's Ford Escort prototype

Just prior to the start of the rally Dave Bignold was asked by Ford to travel up to Clark & Simpson and fit rear shock absorber turrets into Rauno Aaltonen's Ford Escort 1850 GT. The installation was completed quickly over a weekend and Aaltonen's car was ready to compete in the rally.

Outside the Sunday Mirror offices

Racing across rough terrain

The London - Mexico World Cup rally started at Wembley Stadium in London on April 19th 1970 covering approximately 16,000 miles through Europe and South America and finishing in Mexico City on May 27th 1970. The event was very successful for Ford with Hannu Mikola and Gunnar Palm winning the rally and Rauno Aaltonen and Henry Liddon finishing third.